Made in Albania shoes – a success story

An interesting article has appeared on New York Times about Albanian economy and its struggles and one extraordinary enterprenaur has been mentioned, Donika Mici, chief executive of DoniAnna, the largest shoe manufacturing business in Albania.

Even as other shoe exporters do anything possible to have “Made in Italy” label, Ms. Mici makes shoes only in Albania and maintains that a “Made in Albania” label is no longer an obstruction to success.

She says that time has come for Albania to overcome its past and “to become a modern European country and there is no turning back.”

The DoniAnna client list consists from mass-market chains like Macy’s and Bata to specialists like Aldo and Kenneth Cole. The company’s sales in the first six months of this year were €14 million. It employs 1,400 workers and exports to many countries including Italy, France and USA.

“We have low wages, and we do not skimp on quality, and while it can take six months for a manufacturer in Bangalore to fill an order for a European shoe retailer, Albania’s location means it takes only 30 days for my shoes to go from factory floor to a shelf in London or Paris” she said.

“The effects of world financial crisis have influenced the Albanian economy,” he said, “but there is no economic crisis here.”